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Thursday, 18 December 2014

Do you ever just sit back, take a look at your life and think to yourself "holy crap I am so lucky"? My birthday just passed and once the celebrations winded down (and I recovered from my hangover), I took a few moments to reflect on the amazing life I live. Today I've decided to share with you a bit of what I'm most thankful for. As the holidays approach, maybe some of you will take some time to reflect on what you're thankful for in your own life.

1. I am blessed with the world's greatest and most generous friends.The neat thing about true friends is that even though you may not speak every day or even every month, and even though you live hours, provinces, even countries apart you always know that you have a friend in them. Since leaving behind my hometown friends to move to university, and then parting ways with my university friends when school finished, I now have friends all over the world who each hold a special place in my heart (you all know who you are and I am so thankful for all of you!) This weekend the girls who got me through 4 years of university, who did my hair before the bar just to hold it back for me after the bar, made a 7 hour trip (one on a plane!) to visit me for less than 24 hours on my birthday. My heart is so full! This is something I am incredibly thankful for; friends like this don't come that easily. These girls are forever friends and I am so lucky to have them in my life.

Four summers ago a wonderful new person joined my life by sheer chance. Today, I call that same person my best friend (and maid of honour!). She's the kind of friend who leaves behind their big city life to hop on a bus for 5 hours to visit you for a weekend in your freezing cold, tiny little Northern town, and sends you flowers (no matter where you are) every year on your birthday. A year and a half ago, I moved to her big city and since then she has become my rock; I have no idea what I would do without her and I am thankful for her every single day.

2. My family means the world to me.There is no love greater than the love between family members and I am so grateful to have the fantastic and loving family that I do. When you're a bratty 16 year old your biggest dream is to move out on your own. Now, after 6 years of living on my own, I yearn for the days when my brother, sister, and I all slept in single beds under my parents roof. I miss the constant chaos, I miss family dinners every night, I miss trips to blockbuster to rent a movie for the weekend, I miss stealing my sisters clothes and annoying my older brother; I really miss my family and I am so thankful for their unconditional love and constant support. See you all on the beach so soon!

Next year, my family will grow even bigger when Maeghan and I say I do! However, these wonderful people have been part of my family for the past 3 years, since the day Maeghan and I met. They are some of the kindest, warmest, and most loving people I have met in my entire life and I am so grateful that they will soon be my in-laws.

3. I found my soulmate.

The past three years of my life spent with this beautiful creature by my side have hands down been the best three years of my entire life. I laugh until it hurts everyday, I smile constantly, I'm never bored, and I'm spoiled far too often. Next summer I am vowing to spend the rest of my life with someone; with my best friend and my soulmate...I don't think many people get that lucky. I will forever be the most thankful for my partner and all of the joy she brings me.What are you thankful for?

Monday, 8 December 2014

Welcome to Maeghan and I's pad! This apartment, which initially felt a little like a place for us to squat for a few months, sort of "happened" by accident. Our first place, a gorgeous 7th floor condo in a brand new building over looking the backside of Parliament and the river, was becoming more hassle than the glass-walled shower, granite counter tops, and walk-in closet could make up for so we had to move. However, finding a new place that could live up to the old one while still in our budget and in the downtown core proved to be quite the task. This place was not on our radar at all and we only visited it (I only visited it to humour Maeghan) to fill time before another viewing. But surprise surprise, the location, the unbeatable price, and the square footage won us over.

The place more than fulfills our needs and we're slowly starting to add bits and pieces of decor that make it feel more like "us" and home. Luckily, December came quickly for us this year (luckily because December makes having a cute apartment easy).

About a week back, I came out of the elevator and heard classic Christmas music in the hallway. As I opened the door to our unit, I realized that beautiful sound (can you tell I love Christmas??) was coming from in there. Maeghan had done the cutest thing; she had spent the afternoon searching for the perfect apartment-sized tree and brought it home along with some eggnog, candy canes, and Christmas chocolates. Now it wouldn't be an Emma and Meaghan event if there wasn't a bump in the road. It turns out, our perfect little tree had travelled on a truck all the way from Wisconsin and was refusing to let it's branches fall after being tied up for so long. This meant that we couldn't decorate it yet. So there it sat, for nearly a week, naked (...undecorated).

This weekend while I did some christmas shopping, Maeghan finished the decorating. How beautiful it was to come home to an apartment lit only by Christmas lights and flickering candle flames...it almost made me forget about the parquet floors that drive me wild!

In another effort to pretty-up our place and prepare for the holidays, I baked and decorated 2 dozen gingerbread cookies. While waiting for Maeghan to come home from work, I thought I would get ahead of the game and bake enough cookies to freeze for Christmas. For those of you who know my fiancée, you know this freezing thing wasn't going to happen. The day after I baked the cookies, Maeghan and I both took a few in our lunches. The difference, however, is that I ate one and shared the rest with my coworkers while Maeghan ate all of them herself. So of course, the cookies are already gone. At least its a testament to my baking skills, right?

For the next few weeks, we'll stick to sipping hot chocolate and eggnog while enjoying our beautifully decorated apartment...and I'll save my baking until the last minute so at least a few treats make it to our families.